Part of the Family
by dippycippy
Summary: Neal and Peter need to work out their issues of trust and Peter needs to let Neal know where he stands in his life. Disclaimer: White Collar belongs to USA; I only write about it. Warning: This story contains spanking of an adult. If you don't like that than please don't read it!
1. Chapter 1

**Part of the Family**

By Dippycippy

Summary: Neal and Peter need to work out their issues of trust and Peter needs to let Neal know where he stands in his life.

Disclaimer: White Collar belongs to USA; I only write about it.

Warning: This story contains spanking of an adult. If you don't like that than please don't read it!

There are refrences and slight spoilers to "Honor among Theives"

**Chapter 1**

As Neal stood and watched Abagail being put into the FBI vehicle, he felt a gush of relief and worry at the same time. That was quickly accentuated when he heard the familiar voice behind him from his friend, his boss, his handler, Peter Burke. It happened so fast but the emotions running through Neal Caffrey's head were so scattered.

He was an emotional wreck. Between losing Ellen and wanting so badly to get the guy; he felt he had somehow let Peter down once again. He truly didn't mean to. He thought he was doing the right thing by not telling Peter about the blackmail but somehow at this moment, and by the tone of voice he knew that Peter wouldn't see it that way. So when he asked if he would be leaving in the back of one of those cars, relief was not a strong enough word for the way he felt. It wasn't over yet though and he was happy to see that Diana was on his side and even happier when Peter told him he was off the hook. He should have realized that Peter wasn't completely happy with him but the emotion of what Peter had done for him surpassed anything else at that time.

He was so excited to see what was in those files and so happy that Peter seemed to trust him with it that he was being ignorant to the looks running across Peter's face. Everything he had done wrong went on the back burner because he was going to get to both Ellen's killer and Sam.

Peter was on another emotional roller coaster all together. He was worried for his friend, but even though he was happy that Neal did the right thing in the end he wasn't so sure he did it for the right reasons. He almost felt bad that there was such a lack of trust because the kid meant the world to him. He had risked his career and his life for him and he usually thought that he meant something to Neal as well. On many occasions Neal had stepped up and did things above and beyond for both himself and Elizabeth. Deep down though, Peter knew that he was a con and he didn't like the idea that he could be being conned. It was with a heavy heart that he went home to his wife that evening. As he gave her the details of the story, he realized that he had to do something about the trust issues they were having because they were more than just CI and handler, they were family and he didn't want to loose Neal because he was afraid to what he thought was right.

Neal was surprised to hear the knock on the door as he wasn't expecting anyone. He quickly put his computer screen down and yelled, "Come in" assuming it was Mozz.

"Peter, I'm so glad you're here. I wanted to show you what I found." He practically dragged Peter to the table where the computer was resting.

Peter sighed; he really wasn't sure where to begin. "I'm glad you found something that can help you but I am here for another reason. We need to talk."

"What's with the "bad news" face? Everything OK?" Neal was starting to be a bit concerned. He didn't like the look on Peter's face at all.

"What is it with you guys and my face? Am I that easy to read?" Peter was getting side tracked so he figured it was time to just speak his mind. With one last sigh he went on with the approach he had somewhat planned in his head. "Neal, did you con me into giving you that flash drive?" There it was, a direct question and he hoped he would get a direct answer but knowing Neal Caffrey as he did he was pretty sure he would not.

Neal had the good graces to hang his head at Peter's direct question. He had always had a no lying policy when it came to Peter, at least not a direct one. He was unsure how he could word this because he had all the best intentions of doing everything according to Peter's plan but once again his criminal life got in the way. It was time to let it all out. After all isn't honesty the best policy.

"I had no intention of this working out the way it did. You know that she blackmailed me and I had no choice but to go the route I did. I wanted to tell you but I really thought I made the right choice. We got it done and everything ended well." He stopped to take a breath and gauge Peter's reaction.

He was not pleased with the scowl painting his friend's face. "I know you don't like the grey areas but for me I don't think anything can be black and white. I do trust you and I am aware that I have a long way to go before you trust me completely. I don't blame you since I have given you good reason not to."

As he glanced over at Peter he noticed that his face was softening a bit. Now it was time for the truth. "I would be lying to you if I said that somewhere in the back of my mind it didn't occur to me that I may get to see the hard drive once she was arrested." Neal shrugged while issuing Peter with one of his patent Caffrey grins.

Peter was clearly not amused however and he made that very clear with an almost growl and those scary veins popping out of his neck. His mind was reeling as to what to say to soften the whole story. Neal was nothing if not a quick thinker. "I promise that it was not my intention to deceive you, and I was not intending to help out so I could get what I want. I am doing my very best to do this your way and if I managed to get my way at all it was purely lucky because I was really in a tough spot and I wasn't even sure I would get out of it. I know you will help me to find Ellen's killer and get the information about my family that I am looking for but I will never deliberately put your career or friendship on the line again. You mean too much to me. I don't want to find out about my old family and a life that I can never get back if it puts my new life and the only family I have at risk. You and Elizabeth are everything to me. You let me into your lives in a way that I never thought possible. It is just hard for me to change who I am after being this way for so long. I'm sorry!" He let out a big breath and looked once again in Peter's direction hoping for the veins to be hidden once again beneath his skin. He was pleased to see that they were but Peter's face still looked distressed.

"Listen, I am happy that you say that you did not intentionally try to con me and that you consider us family. I feel like you are part of our family as well. My biggest concern was that you were willing to put all that on the line, risk everything, including your freedom on something so reckless when it all could have been avoided simply by coming to me. You didn't get caught in the act this time Neal but it was too close. I was so close to arresting you. Fortunately, you made a good call in the end and this story has a," Peter sighed, "a somewhat obscure happy ending for all of us."

Peter stood up and began pacing as he spoke, "That being said, I can't allow your indiscretions to pass without consequence."

Now it was Peter's turn to gauge Neal's reactions. His face was pretty blank and so he felt he could continue. Peter changed his tone and delivered the next bit of his speech in a very firm and fatherly tone as he stopped in front of the younger man and placed his hands on his hips. "I must tell you that even though you say that things cannot be black and white for you, it is not your choice. If you want to work with the FBI than they have to! Is that understood?"

"Yes sir, I will try." Neal was even surprised at his answer that was delivered with his head down and his eyes unable to meet Peter's once again.

"I appreciate that you are willing to make an effort but that will still not be enough. When I was unsure if you were trying deliberately to con me I thought I should put you in FBI lockup for a week." As he looked at the shocked look on his partner's paling face and quickly added "But I believe you and I will not need to take those official channels."

"Thank you, Peter," was all Neal could get out.

"I was thinking that maybe you could stay with me and El for the week." He looked over to Neal and saw his eyes light up and a bit of a smile that was trying to be suppressed. "I don't think you understand, I meant a kind of house arrest. No phone, computer, drinking, friends, TV." He was interrupted by giggling.

"Are you grounding me, Daddy?" Neal was full on laughing at this point.

This got Peter's anger up a bit but Neal was too busy laughing to notice. He used his best low, fierce voice to deliver his next sentence so that his partner would understand the seriousness of this conversation. "Neal Caffrey, if I were your father, I would not only be grounding you but you would be receiving a very healthy dose of my belt. You will not be staying with us so that you and El can cook and discuss art. You will be punished. I don't want to take official channels but if you continue to take this so lightly I will. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

"Yes Sir!" Neal had the good sense to look contrite. He wasn't sure if Peter was serious about the belt thing and he was pretty sure he didn't want to find out.

Peter then asked, "Neal do you have anything to add to this conversation or will you be packing enough things to come home with me for the week."

"I'm packing. Of course I don't want to go to lockup and I appreciate you doing this for me. I won't let you down." As serious as this line was delivered by Neal, he could not help the little giggles that were trying to escape because the thought that Peter thought this was a real punishment was funny to him. He was excited to go and stay with the Burkes. Of all the times he had thought he was going to try and con peter, this was not one of them and he was getting what he wanted all along.

Unfortunately Peter was not amused and decided to show him once and for all that this was serious. So with a very quick move across the room and a mighty lift of his arm he landed one very hard and fast swat across the seat of his partner's pants.

"HOLY CRAP, what was that?" Neal all but screamed. He had never been swatted before and it hurt much more than he imagined.

"That is me showing you that I am serious about this. You have a decision to make right now. Are you coming home with me and intend to act appropriately or are you going to lockup? Remember the deal though, and don't think I am kidding. I won't stand for your blatant disobedience so it will be handled as your boss or your family but rest assured it will be handled from here on in."

Neal was confused and scared. Did this mean that Peter was serious about this belt thing? Could he handle that if that one swat was pretty intense? But he certainly didn't want to be locked up in a prison cell and it could turn out that if it was reported he could lose his deal. He also knew he didn't want to lose his relationship with Peter. He trusted him and Peter was the closest thing to a father Neal ever had. He knew what he had to do but that didn't stop him from being nervous. He all but stuttered out his words. "I want to be part of your family, but you are not really going to beat me, are you? I don't think Elizabeth would like it and in case you haven't noticed, I'm a grown man."

Peter was glad and worried at the same time. He didn't really know where he was going to go with this but the kid was obviously worried about being disciplined. He would have guessed that Neal didn't have any experience in that department. "First of all I would never beat you or anyone for that matter. I said my son would receive a dose of my belt which, the last time I checked was a spanking."

He looked over at the pale and horrified face of his partner and decided he had to continue quickly or Neal might hyperventilate. "I know you are a grown man but you certainly don't act like one all the time. I don't know what to do with you. You disobey me, constantly act out and practically have tantrums. You need to follow orders and you need to trust me and my intentions. I am in charge and if you haven't figured that out with prison, lectures and desk duty than we need to try something else because I don't know what I would do if you went back to prison. I won't allow it. You mean too much to me."

Neal looked directly into Peter's eyes and he let one small tear escape his eyes. "I do trust you and I know you would never intentionally hurt me, but I don't know if I could sit back and let you hit me. I have never been punished that way in my life and I don't think I want to start now." He could not even make eye contact at this point.

Peter lifted Neal's chin. "Please look at me. I would not expect you to sit back and allow me to hit you. I don't even know if it would ever come to that but I have to find a different route to go with you. I need to keep you out of prison and I need for you to follow the rules. We have Hughes and the FBI both on our backs and you are going to have to make some big changes. If anyone realized what you did it could have meant not only the end of our deal but my career as well. You cannot take any matters into your own hands. You cannot keep things from me that can endanger you or your freedom and when I give you a direct order you will follow it. I am taking you home and you will follow every instruction I give you. If you do as you're told then it will be over in one week. You can come back here and we will start again fresh. However, if we have any problems then you will see just what I mean by a dose of my belt and believe I will not expect you to sit back and except it, but you will get it. If it comes to that then your punishment will be extended until I am satisfied that you intend to obey me. Are we clear?"

Neal nodded, letting his head hand down in the process.

"I want a verbal answer, Neal!" Peter stated calmly.

"Crystal."

"Good than let's get you packed and get home."

With all of the worry and fear and anxiety about what was going on, Neal would be kidding himself if he said he didn't like how Peter said "get home" and he still was not seeing how this was going to be a punishment that is as long as Peter keeps his belt in its loops. So he went about putting his things in a bag and moving on to a new chapter in his life where he was going to be accountable for his actions.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter** 2**

Elizabeth was happy that her boys were going to work this out in a more civilized manner than usual. She was happy to have Neal staying with them and was not sure either how her wonderful husband was intending for this to be a punishment. When she heard the front door, she went over to greet them but she wasn't crazy about the looks on their faces. Neal looked so sad so her motherly instinct kicked in and she went to him and smothered him with hugs.

"Hello Elizabeth. Thanks for letting me stay." Neal said in a small voice.

"We are not coddling him, El. This is supposed to be a punishment." Peter said in a stern voice, but he knew he had no chance at talking El out of mothering Neal to death.

"Neal, go and put your stuff in the bedroom, change into some pajamas and come down so that we can go over the rules."

"PAJAMAS, it's like 5:00! What am I, a baby?" He stopped his rant in its tracks with one look over to Peter, who had the sternest face and his hands strategically placed on his belt buckle. "I'm on it!" Neal ran up the stairs.

"What was that about, hon? I never saw him follow an order so easily. He looked like a teenager, who didn't want to get in trouble with dear old Dad."

Peter sighed, thankful for the few minutes alone to speak to his wife. He needed to explain the situation to her. "That was exactly what it was. He is under the impression that if he doesn't obey my orders, he may get a strapping with my belt." Peter looked over at his wife expecting a horrified face but he did not see one.

"It's about time that you find a way to make him listen." She said in a very matter of a fact voice.

To say Peter was shocked by his wife's response was an understatement. He thought he would be fighting both of them to make this work. "I'm glad we are on the same page then and it looks like my threat may have him falling into line."

Elizabeth giggled at that. "You keep thinking that if it makes you feel better."

He sat down on the couch with a sigh and took the beer his wife was offering. She was so wonderful. He did not know if he could do this without her. Two gulps later and Neal was standing in front of him with his loose sweats and tee shirt. He looked so much younger when he was dressed this way. It made it easier to proceed when he looked the part of naughty teenager. "Have a seat so we can get started. I want to be very clear on what is going to go on this week. You are not going to be coming into the office with me. You will wake up and have breakfast with us. You will be responsible for cleaning up after the meal. I will bring you home some case files to work on from the desk in your room. I expect you to spend the majority of the day in your room reviewing these. Of course you are not confined to it but if at any point Elizabeth or I ask you to go there you will do so without question. You will have lunch with El if she is home, or by yourself and also clean up after that. You may call me in an emergency or if you have a case related question but other than that there will be no phone. Please give me your cell phone and you will get it back when the punishment is over." He stopped and asked Neal if he had any questions up to this point.

"No phone. What if someone has something important to tell me?" Neal whined.

"Sara and Mozzie know that if there was a real emergency they can contact me. I will allow you to listen to your voicemail each night in front of me and if there is something important we will address it."

"You need to keep your room and bathroom clean. You can put your laundry with ours and El and I will take care of it."

"How about I prepare dinner each night?"

"No. We'll take care of the meals. You will be called down for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but after you will be required to return to your room."

Neal nodded but remained silent, his brain already registering the immense boredom he was about to experience; hopefully he could keep himself occupied by chatting with friends on Gmail or catching a few live streaming events on his laptop.

But it was as though Peter could read his mind as he continued detailing the conditions of his confinement, "No computer and no TV at any time…."

Neal groaned inwardly but wisely kept any complaints to himself.

"… If you are bored you can read a book or draw. You may not have any wine or liquor of any kind. Is that clear?"

"Yes, I think so. What am is supposed to drink with dinner?" Neal said in a small voice. He was starting to comprehend that this wasn't going to be as fun as he thought.

"You can have water or milk. Realize that this is a baseline. I can add any rules at any time. After lunch, you can go outside into the yard for a bit of fresh air."

"But Peter," Neal couldn't contain the whining any longer, "How is this different from being placed in the lock-up? No alcohol, no phone or computer, one hour in the exercise yard after lunch? I may as well be in the FBI holding cells."

"Is that what you want Neal, cause I'm more than happy to take you there. Any time you want, just say the word and you can finish your week off behind bars. It would be better for me if I didn't have to do that. Hughes is going to want a formal report on why I deemed it necessary and I won't lie, but I will support you and word it in a way that avoids being scrutinized in the least from the powers that be. So, tell me now or should I continue?"

Neal dropped his head and shook it apologetically, "Sorry Peter, please continue."

"Good, now when I get home from work, you can go with me to take Satch on his walk. That will be the extent of you going out. And just so you are fully aware, any small infraction will be punished. This week is about you following orders, Neal. If you break any of the rules, you will be punished."

"I'll be sent to solitary confinement and served bread and water?" Neal asked, very sarcastically.

"No Neal, you will be disciplined with a dose of my belt. Do you have any questions?"

The young con swallow hard before responding, "No…sir, I think I got it."

"Good, now please go up to your room and we will call you when dinner is ready. You can choose a book from the shelf if you don't have one with you."

"Yes sir." And he walked off in the direction of "his" room.

El waited till the young man was out of ear shot before turning to her husband with a puzzled expression, "Peter…Why did you turn Neal down when he offered to cook. I thought it was a wonderful suggestion and it'll no doubt keep him busy and out of trouble."

"Nothing to do with the fact he cooks a mean spicy lamb curry?"

"It has everything to do with that!" El responded seriously and Peter tried not to laugh. But then he became serious himself,

"Listen El, I'm going to need your help with this. Neal's at the point that's he's spent enough time away from prison that he's forgotten exactly how horrendous the place can be. So much so that he's willing to take stupid chances because somewhere in that brilliant brain of his, the consequences aren't bad enough to outweigh the risks he is willing to take. Yesterday, I almost sent Neal back to prison, for good. I was so close to making the call and if I had, right now, Neal would be sitting in an orange jumpsuit, between two over sized Neanderthals who are impressed with his pretty body, trying to digest the unappetizing prison slop that he's just realized he's going to be eating for the rest of his life. I need Neal to spend the week contemplating just how much he's missing out on and perhaps thinking that maybe some of the impulsive garbage he gets in to, is not worth the risk after all."

"So why not simply put in the FBI holding cells for a week? Wouldn't that have been an easier option?"

Peter shook his head. "Not for Neal. Any one detained has to have an official report on the incident and even if I don't record Neal's involvement in the gallery robbery as my justification for locking him up; anything I record is going to draw the attention of the marshals. Neal doesn't need that. What he really needs is a good kick in the butt and a reminder of how much he's going to miss his freedom if he continues down the path he's heading."

El nodded her head as the seriousness of it all sunk in. She hated to even think about how heartbreaking it would have been for everybody, particularly her and Peter, if Neal had been sent back to prison. "What can I do to help?"

Peter smiled, his wife was too good. "I need you to limit your contact with Neal as much as possible. Don't go out of your way to avoid him, but don't go out of your way to give him your attention. During the meals, chat as normal but when he gets sent back to his room, I want him to get the sense of what it's like back behind bars. Obviously I don't expect his door to be shut so if you are walking by, say what you want, but he's going to try and engage you in conversation to quell his boredom. Don't let him suck you in, as difficult as that may be."

"It won't be easy."

"No it won't but let me tell you how I'm going to get through it. Each time my conviction starts to waver, I'm going to remind myself how much easier this is then having to wait till visiting hours to check that nothing bad has happened to the kid throughout the week."

###


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Rain! Neal looked out his 'cell' window deflated at seeing the water pooling in the lawn below. It had been raining when he was called down for breakfast; and it was still raining when he was called down for lunch. El had told him it was too miserable to go out but he'd told her he didn't care and he'd donned one of Peter's rain jackets and snow boots and trudged out to the 'exercise yard' for his one hour of prison release. Neal had stood in the pouring rain for all of five minutes before he'd thrown in the towel and headed back inside for a warm shower and some dry clothes. He sat in his room for the rest of the afternoon.

El had walked by a few times on her way to the master bedroom but all she'd said was, 'Hey, sweetie,' and continued on her way. Neal had called out if she wanted to come in and join him in a game of chess but she had brushed him off by saying she needed to do some ordering for work. He'd read the first couple of chapters of one book already, and tried to do some sketching but he wasn't in the mood. A few times he'd reached into his pocket to get his phone, only to remember that it had been confiscated and was on the contraband list. There was nothing to do so Neal continued to stare out the window, simply feeling sorry for himself.

###

"What's been happening at the office?" Neal inquired enthusiastically, like a kid who'd been waiting all day for his dad to get home to ask him the question he was desperate to have answered.

"Well," Peter dug into his pasta and answered around a mouthful of food, "The team missed you. I lost count of the amount of times Jones or Dianna said, 'If Neal was here, he'd be, blah, blah, blah."

"They said that? Blah, blah, blah," Neal was too busy talking to eat.

"No, they said the real words, I just couldn't be bothered repeating them all."

"Do they know why I'm here, what did you tell them?"

"The truth," Neal's eyes went wide with horror so Peter continued his explanation, "That I was disgusted with your conduct over the past couple of days and I've put you in house arrest to be served at my house so I can keep an eye on you, to give you time to think about the error of your ways."

"And they bought that?"

"Yes Neal, surprisingly they did."

Neal decided to finally have a mouthful of his dinner, "So where are we going to walk Satchmo to after we finish eating? I know there's a great dog park just twelve blocks or so east of here."

Peter stopped chewing so he could study the younger man for sincerity, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, of course I'm serious. Twelve blocks is not that far. You're in good shape."

"Neal," Peter spoke slowly, "It's raining out."

"A couple of drops of water isn't going to kill you Peter. You think you're the witch from the Wizard of Oz and you're going to melt if you get wet?"

"Neal," Peter shook his head and stated firmly, "It's raining buckets out there!"

"No! It's not!" Neal almost shouted back.

"Yes it is," Peter was having a hard time keeping calm himself so El figured it was time to join in and give her two cents worth,

"Listen sweetie, it's horrible out there. Satchmo would not step foot out into that. You'd have to carry him."

"Then I'll carry him. Elizabeth, I looked out just before and it really wasn't that bad." Then, as if on cue, the room filled with bright light that had breached the barriers of the window shades and an almighty thunderous roar shook the room. The storm must have been almost on top of them. Neal slumped in his seat, accepting defeat but before he picked up his fork he grumbled loud enough to be heard, "You promised, Peter.

Thank goodness the first day was over; with only six more to go. Six more, how could he last? Thankfully the sun was shining so at least he would be able to get out of the house a bit. Neal was sulking a bit but Elizabeth is so sweet and cheerful that it is was impossible to feel sorry for himself. He had breakfast and lunch and did his cleanup. He stayed in his room and worked on the files Peter had the messenger send over. He sat out in the backyard with Satch for a bit after lunch and all was going pretty well. The only problem was that Neal was Neal and he couldn't stay put much longer. By 4:30 he couldn't take being trapped anymore. He was begging Elizabeth to let him go to the store for her. He kept coming up with things she might need to finish up her dinner. She told him time and time again that Peter wouldn't like that because he was specific that he could not go out. He had to do something and fast. His childish side was about to shine through but what he didn't realize was that Peter was tracking his anklet for most of the day. As he climbed out the bedroom window to go buy a newspaper or some gum, all he was thinking about was that he would be able to get home way before El noticed he was gone. She was busy with dinner and he was supposedly working so what happened when he reached the store a few blocks from the house was nothing if not unexpected. As he was paying for his Snickers Bar, he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard that familiar voice, but the voice did not sound friendly or nice this time. It was downright scary. So scary in fact that Neal did not even register what was said. All he registered was being hauled by the collar and not so gently being thrown into the backseat of Peter's car. The child safety locks were set and Peter got into the front and drove away. Peter was making growling noises and grinding his teeth. His hands were wrapped so tight around the steering wheel that his knuckles were white. Thankfully, self preservation had kicked in and Neal was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

As Peter hauled Neal out of the car in front of his house, he could not hold in his anger any longer. "Neal Caffrey, what did we discuss? Have you lost your mind? You mean to tell me that you could not stay out for trouble for more than one day? You are going to be a very sorry young man when I am finished with you, now get into the house, up to your room and wait in the corner!" He was yelling so loud that Neal was sure all the neighbors could hear. If this wasn't embarrassing enough, he was propelled toward the house with an almighty smack to his behind that made him yelp. He ran at full speed to avoid letting anyone seeing him cry. He sped into the house and past a very baffled Elizabeth, to his room. When he got there he rubbed at his rear and the tears were running down his face. He was embarrassed and he felt bad, but most of all he was scared. He had never seen Peter quite so angry before. If that swat was an indication of what might lie ahead for him, he didn't know if he could go through with it. Perhaps he should tell Peter that he will take his chances in lockup. He didn't have much time to think about it because he heard soft footsteps coming toward his room.

"Neal, sweetie, what did you do?" Elizabeth asked as she entered the room. She put her arm around him and brought him over to sit on the bed. "Peter asked me to come up and make sure that you were following his orders. He is taking some time to calm down."

She looked over at his scared and pale face with tears running down his cheeks. He looked so young. She felt bad for him but he deserved what he had coming. "I thought we were having such a good day. You are going to have to learn to follow orders or you are not going to be a happy camper. I won't tell Peter that you were not in the corner unless he asks me a direct question, but I think you should get yourself there and start thinking about what happened today. You don't want to make this any worse. Just remember that we really do love you and don't want anything to happen to you." She kissed his head and guided him into the corner of the room. She left the door open and went down to calm her husband.

Neal felt like he was waiting in the corner for hours. He could not even believe he was a grown man standing in the corner. What was the point of this and why was he listening. That's right he was listening so he may lessen the amount of pain Peter was about to inflict on him. "Holy crap, what am I doing?" he spoke out loud to no one. He reflected back on his day. Why was he unable to follow orders? What was wrong with him? Was he testing Peter? No, just being stupid and immature. From now on I have to try harder. I need to grow up and start acting my age. Wow this corner thing is under rated. Neal was brought out of his musings by another set of footsteps approaching but not the soft ones that brought him comfort earlier. These were hard and determined. Panic set in again and it was time to face the music.

"Please tell me that you did not pull a disappearing act because you craved peanuts and chocolate?" Peter watched Neal nod his head up and down. "I need verbal answers."

"No sir, I did not." Neal said quietly.

"Then please turn around and give me some explanation why you were not doing as you were told." Peter asked.

Neal was at a loss for words so he decided to just go with the quick, unedited truth. "I was bored and I felt cooped up. Elizabeth wouldn't let me go to the store because she said you wouldn't like it so I snuck out." That sounded like a 9 year old kid's answer even to Neal himself. "Sorry, I promise to try harder tomorrow and I know I was wrong."

"So let me get this strait, you were bored and ran away from home?" Peter almost had to laugh at this revelation but he remembered how angry he had been and that was what held the laughter at bay and allowed him to continue. "So now we know what you did and why you did it. This is a punishment and a lesson in obeying orders. On the second day of your punishment you have showed me that you are incapable of following orders so we need to apply a new tactic to show you that it is in your best interest to obey. You don't respond to lectures, desk duty, grounding or even prison so let's see how you respond to a strapping.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Neal gasped loudly and looked over at Peter's eyes for the first time since he entered the room. "Please, no! I don't think I can take it. I promise to try much harder if you would just give me one more chance. That corner thing really worked and I see the error of my ways." He put his hands into a praying position and lowered his head once again.

"As happy as I am that you used the corner time to reflect on your behavior, it is not punishment. I will remember in the future that corner time will help you to think things out."

"Oh, great!" Came out before he realized he actually spoke and did not just think that.

"Please drop your pants and bend over the desk." Peter said as he stood and began removing his belt.

He watched Neal's reaction and was beginning to feel bad. The tears were running freely down his face and he was frozen in his spot. "Listen Buddy, I understand why you are scared but I assure that you are not the first to receive this type of punishment. I will not give you more that you can take but I won't tell you that you that it won't hurt. It will be easier on both of us if you cooperate."

"NO WAY!" Neal screamed at Peter as he made a bee line for the door. Unfortunately, Peter anticipated this move and had him pinned and over the desk in no time at all. He landed ten good whacks to Neal's backside as the kid yelled and screamed and tried to get out of the hold Peter had on him.

When Peter ended the assault on Neal's backside, he stood up and rubbed his behind profusely. "Ow, ow ,ow! Not nice Peter. I can't believe you just did that to me. I will do my best never to land in this position again."

Peter could not hold back the smile and giggle because Neal thought that it was over. "Neal, please drop your pants and bend over the desk."

"Why, you already punished me." He said as he was slowly backing away from Peter.

"Those little swats were a penalty for trying to run off. We have not begun the punishment. I would rethink the backing away from me because this is a lesson in obedience and we will not begin the real punishment until you obey me. Are we clear?" Peter waited patiently for Neal to register what he had said.

"I don't understand. What do you mean real punishment, you spanked me. It hurt! What more is there?" Neal looked at his as if he had ten heads.

"That was about ten swats with my hands, over your pants. I promised you a strapping and I always keep my promises so let's try this again. I want obedience so please drop your pants and bend over the desk."

Neal was once again frozen in place looking like a kicked puppy. Peter could not believe that he was going to have to go through this again. He moved swiftly and hauled his partner over the desk once more adding ten more swats to his behind. Elizabeth must think he is killing the kid with all the yelling and crying going on.

When he let him up, Neal could not hold back his rampage. "What the hell are you doing? Stop hitting me. I don't have to take this shit from you. I'm not a child and you better stop treating me like one. I can fight back you know."

Peter remained calm. "Get yourself back into the corner and think hard about what I am about to tell you. I want to make this work but when I come back up here, you are either going to pack up and I will take you down to FBI lockup and file an official report or you will obey me and bend over the desk with your pants down. Either way you will be held accountable for your actions. I am giving you fifteen minutes to think on that and make a decision. You have made this harder because a strapping is worse on an already punished behind but remember that if you had just obeyed the first time we would have been done already. Think about where the fault and the blame go in this situation and remember that you are in charge of your life and how this will turn out." With that, Peter strode out of the bedroom.

Neal didn't need fifteen minutes but he figured Peter needed it to calm down once again. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just listen? Since he already knew what he was going to do he used his time to get himself worked up and was sobbing like a toddler very quickly. His heart rate was up and he was worried that he may begin to hyperventilate. Once again he heard those soft footsteps and felt El put her hand on his back. She whispered quietly to him to calm down and continued to rub his back until his breathing and heart rate returned to normal. She stayed another few minutes but Neal didn't dare turn his head form the corner. When she heard her husband's footsteps approaching, she kissed Neal's head and walked toward the door. "I expect you to be here for dinner." She said in a very un-Elizabeth like stern voice.

"Yes, Ma'am," Neal responded with his head still in the corner.

"Turn around please." Neal obeyed and Peter was happy that he at least got that much. He did not want to lock the kid up but this had to be consensual.

"Now either go over to the desk and do as I asked or pack your stuff and we will head out so that I can be home in time to have dinner with my wife. We would love to have our whole family eat together but that is your choice."

He watched as Neal made his way over to the desk and dropped his sweats. He let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding and went over to begin.

"I'm glad you made the right decision. Now please don't put your hands behind to protect yourself. I don't want you to get hurt. It might be best if you put them under your head." Neal obeyed once again and Peter let the first lick land.

Neal jumped up and was rubbing furiously while jumping up and down. It took one second for Peter to restrain him again but he could not keep his mouth shut. "How many times are you going to do that?" He whined out.

"I don't know Neal, but if you get up again I will lower your shorts also. Do you understand?"

Neal was horrified, but he obeyed. He knew he had to do this and he was going to take it like the man he was. No way was he going to have more humiliation added to this. Or so he thought. As four or five more licks landed, he tried his level best to remain calm and still but on the next strategically placed lick across the under curve of his behind, he could take no more. He jumped up once again and rubbed. Peter grabbed him and in one swift motion, his shorts joined his pants around his ankles. He was face down once again in the most embarrassing position he had ever been in. Tears began to flow freely once again. Unsure if it was the fear of pain or humiliation.

"Please don't I'm sorry please!" He begged but it was as if Peter didn't hear him.

The onslaught continued as did the tears until Peter felt Neal's whole body relax and he was quietly apologizing between sobs. Neal did not even realize that it was over for a few minutes. He noticed Peter was rubbing his back and telling him that he forgave him and they would start fresh. Peter was also surveying the damage. He guessed Neal would feel this for a few days.

When Peter helped him into a standing position and he readjusted his wardrobe, he put an arm around his shoulder and was surprised that Neal accepted it and went into a full hug. He continued crying and apologizing and Peter rubbed his back until he was calm. "It's all over. You did well and I hope we don't have to do this ever again. We are starting fresh now. Take a rest until dinner. I'll call you when it's ready."

As Neal lay on his stomach in bed in the Burkes' house, he thought he should be angry, but he wasn't. He was certainly in pain though but he didn't want to run out the window. He wanted to be right where he was. He closed his eyes and went into the most restful sleep he had had in years.


	5. Chapter 5

**Epilogue**

Neal was a model inmate for the remainder of the week - coming down pleasantly to join the Burkes' for meals before returning to his room without having to be asked, taking his one hour break in the 'exercise yard', only when the weather permitted, and keeping his 'cell' spotless and orderly at all times.

On the final night of his 'sentence', Neal had returned to his room, after thanking Elizabeth for the delicious Cajun grilled chicken, got dressed for bed and was sitting crossed-legged on a cushion on the floor reading John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' when Peter strolled past on his way to the bathroom.

Neal was so engrossed in his story that he didn't hear the approaching footstep so Peter took a moment to lean against the doorframe and studying his young change while thinking what a picture of innocence he appeared in his flannel pajamas sitting on the floor, reading a book. Oh, how looks could be deceiving! "I read that in high school, got an A on my book report," Peter announced his presence.

Neal startled as his eyes shot up, genuinely surprised, "Uh, sorry Peter…I didn't hear…"

"I'm stealthy like that," Peter shrugged, "Mind if I come in?"

"No of course not," Neal shuffled aside on the floor so Peter could get past and take up a spot on the end of the perfectly made bed.

Peter ran his hand across the top blanket, "Did you learn how to make beds like this in prison?"

"No," Neal searched his memories, "I…I taught myself when I was younger. I liked things to look nice so even if the materials I had to work with weren't that great, I'd do what I could with them to give the illusion that they were grandiose."

"Well…good job. Is that why you sit on the floor to read? So you don't mess up your good work? Each time I walk past and you're reading, you're always on the floor. You do know there's a nice comfy chair in the corner don't you?"

Neal looked across at it and shrugged, "I didn't have a comfy chair in prison. I thought you wanted this to be just like prison?"

"I did. But, well, El wouldn't let me remove it. Said that would have been petty and unnecessary."

"And it would have been."

"So it's here. Why didn't you use it?"

"Cause I didn't have one in prison."

Peter stared down at the younger man with the expectation of greater clarification.

Neal put the book down and leaned back against the bed. "I… maybe I wanted this to feel like prison too. Maybe I wanted to force myself to remember just how unpleasant I found the whole experience to be. I don't want to go back, I don't want to leave all this, all you guys, I want to learn from this mistake and hopefully I'll think about it a little harder next time."

"Maybe even come to me?"

"Definitely come to you."

"I can't ask more than that buddy," Peter reached out and rubbed the top of Neal's head. "Just one thing?"

"What's that?"

"Why did you sit on the floor when you read books in your cell in prison?"

"Variety. I saved my bed as much as I could for sleeping so when I got in, I could imagine I was in some fancy hotel somewhere in the French Riviera. Couldn't do that if I'd been sitting on it for most of the day."

"No I guess," Peter tried to visualize before changing the topic, "Uh, listen…El's been bugging me about taking her on a day trip up to the Catskills for a picnic and I figured since it looks like the worst of the bad weather is behind us, we might head up tomorrow for the day."

"And you want me to stay out of trouble while you're gone? I will Peter, don't have to worry about that."

"No, I know I wouldn't but, I thought, maybe you'd like to come with us."

Neal twisted his body so he was looking up at the agent, "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't serious."

"But my radius?"

"I'll take care of that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. So are you in? Should I tell El to pack an extra deviled ham sandwich?"

"Peter, an invite to a family day out with you and El, I'd eat all the deviled ham sandwiches you could throw at me, all the while thinking how lucky I am."

"So that's a yes?"

"Yes…but maybe El might pack a turkey sandwich, if you know, she thinks of it."

"May be your lucky day Neal, I do believe I saw her making one of those with some of that fancy cheese you guys like as I headed upstairs."

It definitely was his lucky day the only day that was luckier that this one is the one where Peter arrested him and saved his life and he became a part of their family.

**The End**


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